This collection of previously unpublished tales is a major contribution to the annals of African-American folk narrative. Ranging from fables to historical narratives, these tales contain a rich variety of information on folk customs, speech, and songs, providing the reader with a deeper understanding of and appreciation for nineteenth-century African-American culture. Negro Traditions offers wonderful descriptions of all manner of rural African-American folk customs, including valuable insights into post-Civil War life in rural Middle Tennessee - from riddles to dances - and how former slaves and their children felt about their lives. At times the movement of these tales toward tragedy is reminiscent of Faulkner; their humor suggests Sut Lovingood; their occasional dark surrealism has overtones of Cormac McCarthy. But the overriding reality of these tales as a representation of a people and their culture gives them a power that moves the reader beyond fiction and into factuality. Here are no banjo-plunking renditions of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"; these tales are full of the realities of life: violence, work, the power of the supernatural, family life, racial tension, and an intense burning resentment against slavery.

Book Information
ISBN 9780870499258
Author Thomas W. Talley
Format Paperback
Page Count 360
Imprint University of Tennessee Press
Publisher University of Tennessee Press